disappeared and left Brother Bernard so greatly consoled that he walked all the rest of the way home in joy.

³⁸ Brother Bernard noted the day and the hour when the angel

appeared to him. Then after he reached the place where Saint Francis was staying with his companions, he told them everything in detail. From this they realized clearly that that same angel had appeared to them at the same hour on the same day.

To the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is blessed forever.

Amen.

IV BROTHER BERNARD GOES TO BOLOGNA^a

¹ From the Cross and to the Cross, God had called both our blessed Father Francis and his companions. Therefore he and his blessed first companions were rightly seen as men of the Crucified, which they really were. Carrying the cross in habit and in all their deeds, preferring the insults of Christ to the empty and deceitful compliments of the world, they were happy when insulted and, for this reason, were saddened when honored. They went through the world as pilgrims and strangers ^{1 Pt 2:11} carrying with them nothing but Christ. As a result, because they were living branches of the true vine, wherever they went, they produced the greatest fruit of souls.

⁴ Once it happened at the beginning of the Order that Saint Francis sent Brother Bernard to Bologna to produce fruit for God there according to the grace given to him by the Lord. So, equipping himself with the cross of Christ, and with the virtue of obedience as his companion, Brother Bernard went to Bologna.

⁵ When children saw him clothed in an odd, disreputable habit, they began to shower him with insults. But Brother Bernard, a real saint, endured these not just patiently, but quite happily. As a true disciple of Christ who became the scorn of men, despised by the people, ^{Ps 22:7 [Vulgate, Ps 21:7]} he deliberately positioned himself in the city where people could more easily make fun of him. While he was sitting there, many gathered around him, both children and adults. Some pulled his capuche back and forth, some threw dirt at him, and others threw stones; some climbed on him, rocking him violently back and forth. Through all these insults, Brother Bernard remained patient and cheerful and at no time did he ever resist or complain. And there is something even

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